Roller transfer processing mechanism



S p 1966 H. D. RUSSELL ETAL 3,

ROLLER TRANSFER PROCESSING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 6, 1964 LL3 ig W F/a/ :1 Z 1.

HAROLD 0. RUSSELL CHARLES E AMER/N6 INVENTORS BY %ZW/M VGM/ A T TORNEYS United States Patent 3,270,654 ROLLER TRANSFER PROCESSING MECHANISM Harold D. Russell and Charles F. Amering, Rochester,

N.Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N .Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 342,991 12 Claims. (Cl. 95-89) The present invention relates to a roller transfer processing mechanism and more particularly to a roller transfer processor adapted to transport photographic film sheets between developing process steps.

Apparatus for processing film having a gelatin coating on one or both sides is well known in the art. Completely automatic apparatus of this type is used by commercial developing entrepreneurs and is relatively expensive with such expense being justifiable only because of the volume of film being processed. One well known type of processor which uses racks and clips to support films is bulky and takes considerable time to load. Another uses many pairs of rollers to accomplish self-threading. However, the use of so many rollers results in expensive equipment. Moreover, some of the most easily loaded processor equipment available is adapted to handle only continuous strips of film or large sheets of film by roller transport mechanisms. In such roller transport processors the spacing between the pairs of driving rollers is a limiting factor relative to the minimum size film which may be processed, and the addition of more driving rollers is not economically feasible. Despite the many equipments now available, there has long existed a need for a more economical atuomatic processing arrangement which is easy to load and operate and which will quickly process many small film sheets.

Therefore, an object of our invention is to provide a simple and reliable automatic sheet film processing equipment adapted to process sheet films of relatively small dimensions.

In accordance with one embodiment of our invention, a roller transfer mechanism is positioned over a series of tanks containing necessary film developing and fixing fluids. One extra pair of rollers is provided, relative to the number of tanks whereby the initial set of rollers may be delivering a sheet film to the first tank at the same instant the final pair of rollers is delivering a developed print to a receptacle at the end of the processing equipment. During film transfer the rollers are intermittently driven between a pickup or receiving position and an insert or delivery position where they respectively receive sheets to be or being processed and deliver the sheets in a next tank of the processor. As will become apparent from the following discussion, no contact with central film surfaces is necessary when a film sheet is in a processing solution. Since hardening agents are temporarily effective, this feature of our processor should enhance obtaining prints as good as any attainable by hand processing techniques. In other words, since there is no contact between the rollers and the central portions of the film when the film is in a first process solution, the hardening agents thereof have an opportunity to be effective prior to such contact.

The subject matter which is regarded as our invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. The invention, however, as to its organization and operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view partially in section of one embodiment of our invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmented top plan view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1;

3,270,654 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 FIG. 3 is a perspective View of another embodiment of our invention; and

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a portion of the equipment shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, in FIGS. 1 and 2 we have shown a plurality of chemical fluid containing sheet film processing tanks including a developer tank 10, a fixer tank 11 and two wash tanks 12 and 13. The provision of two wash tanks is to accomplish an additional time duration of the washing cycle compared to the time duration of the developing and fixing operations. Additional tanks may be added as required in accordance with well established processing techniques to accomplish any timing relationship or any number of processing steps required of our invention.

The last wash tank 13 is also provided with a circulating pump system 14, whereby the final wash water is circulated during the residence of the film sheets in this tank. Similar circulating means may be added to the other tanks if the anticipated through-put volume justifies the additional expense involved. However, if this processor is to be used only a few times between changes of developing and fixing fluids, such sophistications are not warranted.

In the processor itself are also illustrated several film sheets 16, 17, 18 and 19 being in process as well as a stack of processed film sheets 20. The film sheets being processed in the processor of FIG. 1 are of greater density than the fluids of the several process baths as exemplified by various plastic identification cards or credit cards. Thus, they rest on a raisable rack 21 having lower platforms indicated at 22 which are sequentially raised by a motor 23.

A roller transfer mechanism 24 including a frame member and rotatably supporting pairs of rollers 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 is positioned in a receiving location (indicated in the drawings) above the tanks 10 to 13. As the rack 21 is raised, the film sheets will engage the nip of the pairs of rollers. The rotation of the pairs of rollers is sequentially controlled to assure receipt of the film sheets when raised thereto. This engagement is facilitated by deflectors 31 which deflect the top of any skewed film sheets inwardly as they are raised from the solution of the processing tank. Alternately the tanks may be made narrower whereby the deflectors 31 may be omitted.

As indicated, one of the rollers of each pair (indicated as the leftward roller in FIG. 1) is driven by a sprocket 32 coupled by a chain 34 to be driven from a motor 36. The direction of rotation of the motor 36 during receiving of film sheets is such that the pairs of rollers will raise any materials presented to them as when the rack platforms 22 raise the film sheets. Both rollers of each pair are driven by interconnecting gearing 37 (FIG. 2).

After the rollers raise the film sheets into the roller transfer mechanism 24, the frame and rollers of transfer mechanism convey them toward the right when driven by an eccentric drive means 38 under the control of a motor 39. This drive results in intermittent oscillatory motion as indicated by the double-ended arrow 40. After a delivery cycle the transfer mechanism 24 is returned to the receiving location in time for a next trans-fer.

Each of the motors 23, 36 and 39 is sequentially operated in accordance with a timer 41. Of course, this timer 41 may include various contact switches operated by the terminal position result-ing from a sequentially preceding equipment movement as is well known in the machinery and :materials handling arts. However, a single timer 41 is illustrated to simplify the presentation of our invention. We prefer that when the pairs of rollers have been moved to their second or delivery position, the motor 36 is reversed promptly whereby the chain drive 34 rotates the sprockets 32 and thereby the gearing 37 and the pairs of rollers in the opposite direction and moves film sheets into the solution one tank downstream from their previous positions. The motor 23 is reversed during the period between receiving step and the completion of the delivery step so that the platforms 22 are again lowered in the tanks.

It should be noted that under these conditions since the pair of rollers 25 serves the singular function of moving a dry film sheet 16 to the first tank while the second pair of rollers 26 serves the singular function of moving the wet film sheet 17 from the developing tank to the fixing tank 1 1, etc. that none of the fluids are mixed by use of the rollers as illustrated. The pair of rollers 25 remains perfectly dry; the pair 26 is wet only with developing fluid from the tank 10; etc. Thus, no fixing solution contaminates the developer, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 3, we have illustrated a similar roller transfer mechanism 24' utilizing pairs of rollers 25, 26', 27 and 28' in a processor where only three processing tanks are used, a developing tank 10', a fixing tank 11 and a wash tank 12'. However, the film sheets being processed as indicated at 44 and 45, are substantially different from those illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 in that they are less dense than at least one of the process fluids being used in the tanks 10'-1-2' and in that they are each pro- Wldd with a raised portion or code mark 47. Their being lighter than at least one of the fluids of the processing equipment means that if allowed to freely move within the tank of that solution they would tend to float. A floating film sheet would automatically jam, bind or otherwise be misplaced in the transfer arrangements shown in FIG. 1. Moreover, the code mark 47 is a relatively tough deformation such that if the pairs of rollers 25'2-8' are rigidly journaled and of rigid material the passage of a film sheet between these rollers would cause it to be skewed or otherwise misplaced with a result of overlapping and other interference between the various sheets being processed.

In order to compensate for code marks 47, the roller drive arrangement of FIG. 3 drives only one of each pair of rollers whereby all of the lefthand rollers are driven by a chain 49 and none of the righthand rollers are positively driven by the chain or other gearing (such as 37 of FIG. 2). The righthand rollers, as illustrated in FIG. 3, are coupled to the lefthand driven rollers by magnetic coupling by use of magnetic material within one of the rollers and a magnetizable material within the other. In one particular embodiment an eight-inch long, /2-inch diameter magnetic rod provides suitable attraction. As a result, the roller surfaces are engaged either directly, if no material resides therebetween or through frictional engagement of material residing therebetween. Moreover, this magnetic coupling is reduced as the thickness increases so that less resistance is encountered by the code mark 47 than would be encountered by the edges of a film initially as thick as the code marks. Bearings 50 of these magnetic rollers allow lateral movement and may be spring loaded. We prefer that any spring loading be less eflective than the magnetic attraction so as to attain the desired soft pressure against the code mark 47 or against film sheets having swollen emulsions.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the sequential receiving and delivery reversal of the gearing which accomplishes drive of the chain 49 results automatically from the position of the frame of the transfer mechanism 24' whereby a single drive gear 52 engages an idler 53 in a rear or receiving position as illustrated or engages another idler 54 in a forward position as indicated at 52 (in phantom). Since an additional idler gear 55 reverses the drive of the idler 54 compared to the driving arrangement of the idler 53 from the main gear 56, it is obvious that a reversal of rotation of the gear 52 is thus accomplished. With such a reversal arrangement, the motor 57 driving the main gear 56 may continuously operate without causing any deleterious efiect and without timer control. Movement of the roller transfer mechanism 24 is again accomplished by the eccentric drive 38 under the control of the motor 39 in accordance with signal information provided by the timer 41. The signal information provided to the timers 41 and 41' is selected in accordance with processor timing requirements.

Sin-Ce the films 44 and 45 are less dense than at least one of the fluids of the developing processor of FIG. 3, a second pair of rollers 60 are provided which operate within the fluids to maintain the film sheets fully submerged and under mechanical control during processing. It is preferred that these pairs of rollers 60 continuously rotate when the film sheets 45 are within the processing fluids to maintain the film sheets under a downward force during the processing period. As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, the film sheet 45 is bowed slightly by the downward pressure of the pair of rollers 60 with its engagement and the amount of its deflection being controlled by the elevation of a trough 62 which elevation is regulated by a set screw as indicated at 63. Thus, the tanks 10, 11 and 12' may be adapted to receive film sheets of dimensions of several sizes such as from less than 1 inch to more than 5 inches.

The mutual driving of the pair of rollers 60 is similar to that of the pairs of rollers 25'28' with one of these rollers as indicated at 64 being of a magnetic core material and the other roller 65 being of a magnetizable core material. As illustrated, each of the magnetizable rollers 65 is driven by an integral gear 66 which is in turn driven by one idler 67 in accordance with the rotation of a gear 68 coupled to the pair of drive rollers 27 (FIG. 3). Thus, all of the Wet rollers 60 are driven to rotate in the same direction as the pairs 2528', inclusive.

The surface materials of these rollers are selected to minimize potential damage to the film surfaces. Because no transport during a processing step is required, the likelihood of damage to film surfaces is reduced substantially over clip racks and other transport systems. plastics or soft neoprene rubber will provide adequate roller surfaces.

Since relatively small film sheets are being developed in the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 3, it is preferable to have a loading rack 70 providing a plurality of slots 71 in which the film sheets 44 may be inserted. At such time as the transfer mechanism 24' is moved to the receiving location (as illustrated in FIG. 3) the film sheets 44 in the rack 70 are dropped to the first set of rollers 25 by displacement of a gate 73 normally supportingly positioned below them. This gate 73 may be hand operated by moving a handle 74 upward as indicated by an arrow 75 or may be operated directly by the backward motion of the transport assembly 24' by means of a pin drive illustrated at 76.

At the output end of the processor, the developed film sheets as indicated at 78, are deposited in a receiving tray 79 during the delivery operation of the transfer mechanism 24' when it is in the forward position as indicated in phanton at in FIG. 3. At such times as it is preferred to automatically dry the film sheets 78 so that they do not tend to adhere to one another, the receiving tray 79 can well be replaced with a belt conveyor which conveys these developed sheets to standard drying equipment. If the process is to be used for developing, by way of example, a large number of dental X-ray plates, such a dryer is more economically feasible. For small installations, the small film sheets may most economically be hand placed in a dryer device.

While we have shown and described particular embodiments of the present invention, other modifications may occur to those skilled in this art. We intend, therefore, to have the appended claims cover all modification s which ll i in the true spirit and scope of our invention.

Various We claim:

1. A roller transfer mechanism useable in a photographic film sheet developing processor, comprising:

a series of adjacent tanks for containing processing a plurality of pairs of rollers in a frame moveably positioned over said tanks, said pairs collectively being selectively driveable to present film sheets to each of said tanks and receive film sheets from each of said tanks;

means for sequentially moving the frame to position said pairs of rollers to deliver a film sheet received from one tank to an adjacent downstream tank and for returning the frame to a receiving position; and

means for timing the motion of the frame in accordance with the process timing requirements.

2. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 1 having:

means in each tank for presenting a film sheet therein to one of said pairs of rollers positioned in a receiving location by said frame moving means; and

means associated with said timing means for driving said presenting means.

3. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 2 wherein said presenting means includes sequentially raisable rack platforms in each of said tanks.

4. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 2 wherein said presenting means includes other pairs of rollers being arranged to continuously engage the film sheets residing in said tanks and being drivable in accordance with the location of the frame.

5. A roller transfer mechanism useable in a photographic film sheet developing processor, comprising:

a series of equally spaced tanks for containing processa plurality of pairs of rollers in a frame moveably positioned over said tanks, said pairs collectively being selectively driveable to present film sheets to each of said tanks and receive film sheets from each of said tanks;

means for sequentially moving the frame the distance of the equal spacing of said tanks to position said pairs of rollers to deliver a film sheet received from one tank to an adjacent downstream tank and for returning the frame to a receiving position;

means for timing the motion of the frame in accordance With the process timing requirements;

reversible drive means coupled to said pairs of rollers;

and

means for operating said drive means according to the portion of the transfer cycle being accomplished.

6. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 5 wherein said coupling means is a gear shift operable in accordance with the position of the frame.

7. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 6 having:

a pair of lower rollers within each tank to continuously engage any film sheet therein;

gear means coupling said pairs of lower rollers to said pairs in the frame to be driven in accordance with the receiving or delivery rotation thereof; and

adjustable depth control means in each tank for limiting the lower excursion of each film sheet to maintain engagement thereof by said pair of lower rollers during processing.

8. A roller transfer mechanism useable in a photographic film sheet developing processor, comprising:

a series of equally spaced tanks for containing processa plurality of pairs of rollers in a frame selectively moveable over said tanks, said pairs collectively being selectively driveable to present film sheets to each of said tanks and receive film sheets from each of said tanks;

means for sequentially moving the frame the distance of the equal spacing of said tanks to position said pairs of rollers to deliver a film sheet received from one tank to an adjacent downstream tank and for returning the frame to a receiving position;

means for timing the motion of the frame in accordance with the process timing requirements;

reversible drive means coupled to said pairs of rollers to rotate them in one direction during receiving and in an opposite direction during delivery; and

means within said tanks for raising the film sheets to said pairs of rollers when the frame is in the receiving position.

9. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 8 wherein said film raising means is pairs of rollers reversibly rotatable in accordance with the position of the frame.

10. A roller transfer mechanism as in claim 8 wherein said pairs of rollers are mutually coupled by magnetic attraction with one roller of each pair being journaled to allow variation of the spacing therebetween.

11. A processor mechanism useable for a photographic film developing process, comprising:

a series of tanks containing processing fluids;

a plurality of pairs of rollers collectively driveable to transfer the film between said tanks;

means for timing the operation of said pairs in accordance with the processing requirements of the processing fluids; and

magnetic means within the rollers of at least some of said pairs for maintaining driveable engagement therebetween throughout the length thereof.

12. A processor mechanism as in claim 11 wherein said magnetic means includes a magnetic rod within one roller of said pair of magnetizable core material in the other roller of said pair.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,842,890 1/1932 Williams 9589 2,440,314 4/ 1948 Turner 9589 2,805,856 9/1957 Stuehbery 27118.'1 3,067,919 12/ 1962 Kunz 9594 X 3,093,051 6/1963 Ritzerfeld et al 9589 3,116,913 1/ 1964 Lane 9593 X 3,156,173 11/1964 Meyer 95-94 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A ROLLER TRANSFER MECHANISM USEABLE IN A PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM SHEET DEVELOPING PROCESSOR, COMPRISING: A SERIES OF ADJACENT TANKS FOR CONTAINING PROCESSING FLUIDS; A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF ROLLERS IN A FRAME MOVEABLY POSITIONED OVER SAID TANKS, SAID PAIRS COLLECTIVELY BEING SELECTIVELY DRIVEABLE TO PRESENT FILM SHEETS TO EACH OF SAID TANKS AND RECEIVE FILM SHEETS FROM EACH OF SAID TANKS; MEANS FOR SEQUENTIALLY MOVING THE FRAME TO POSITION SAID PAIRS OF ROLLERS TO DELIVER A FILM SHEET RECEIVED FROM ONE TANK TO AN ADJACENT DOWNSTREAM TANK AND FOR RETURNING THE FRAME TO A RECEIVING POSITION; AND MEANS FOR TIMING THE MOTION OF THE FRAME IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS TIMING REQUIREMENTS. 